Help for the world’s Angriest Birds

By Adrian Long, Thu, 21/04/2011 - 08:11

Rovio teams up with BirdLife to fight extinction, invasive aliens... and green pigs!
Rovio Mobile Ltd, the world-leading entertainment media company announced today that their Angry Birds are taking up the fight to save the world’s most threatened birds from extinction. Rovio is working with BirdLife International, the world leader in bird conservation, to give these otherwise condemned bird species a last throw of the dice.
With more than 100 million gamers now playing the Angry Birds game, a huge audience worldwide knows only too well that Rovio's Angry Birds are furious with the green pigs that have stolen their eggs. But sadly, far fewer people are aware that the world’s angriest birds are undoubtedly the 190 Critically Endangered wild bird species that sit on the edge of extinction because of man's impact on our planet.
Now Angry Birds are about to change that.
Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, said: “By working with BirdLife International we have found a natural partner. We were really surprised to discover the similarity between the Angry Birds fight for survival and what is going on in the real world. Many species of wild birds facing extinction are threatened by invasive alien animals like feral pigs and escaped marmosets – the parallels are extraordinary. We hope to raise awareness of the extinction crisis among our customers, and invite them to join us helping BirdLife prevent threatened species from disappearing forever."
BirdLife’s CEO Dr Marco Lambertini said: “We are delighted that Angry Birds are joining us in our fight to prevent extinction and we are confident that with their support many of the world’s angriest birds will become a lot happier.”
Angry Birds will be promoting and supporting BirdLife’s Preventing Extinction Programme in various ways. Their first collaboration with BirdLife is through the new Easter release of Angry Birds Seasons, which has just been launched as a download available online and in appstores for most major mobile gaming platforms.
“Angry Birds is an extraordinary phenomenon that is reaching out and entertaining a massive audience of all ages and from every corner of the world,” said Rovio’s Peter Vesterbacka whose job title is ‘Mighty Eagle’. “By downloading the Angry Birds Seasons Easter update and participating in The Hunt for Golden Eggs, people playing the world's most popular game will become aware of the need to conserve some of the most endangered species on our planet."
The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme is BirdLife International’s response to the global extinction crisis. Launched in 2008, it has grown into the world’s largest bird conservation initiative and is helping to provide targeted conservation action for more than 70 globally threatened species. The programme is entirely charitably funded and relies on the support of companies and individuals who are collectively known as BirdLife Species Champions.